


The Phoenix Isles

by Inebriatednovelist



Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game)
Genre: Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition, F/M, Fantasy, High Fantasy, Yuan-ti, fire genasi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-07
Updated: 2020-07-13
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:47:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,414
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25136386
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Inebriatednovelist/pseuds/Inebriatednovelist
Summary: Left horribly scarred by his own magic, Ifrit seeks to conquer his fears the only way he thinks will really make a difference. To understand the power of fire magic he'll have to venture to the isle of the phoenix and study the demi gods that that rule the island nation and unravel their secrets. He may very well find this isn't a task he can do on his own however.





	1. “I prefer my body guards without brain damage thank you.”

**Author's Note:**

> [COMMISSIONED WORK]

**Chapter One**

Ifrit stepped through the threshold of a tavern and scanned his eyes across the room. Drunks sang off key as an equally drunk pianist fingered the keys. A couple of men at a table threw dice and either shouted their praise or cursed their luck by the resulting rolls. All the same, each table looked to keep to itself, everyone only concerned with drinking the days cares away and washing them down into the night. Ifrit just hoped everyone here would continue to keep to themselves as he stepped inside.

Crossing the threshold, Ifrit kept his eyes on the ground and tried his best to ignore the constant buzzing feeling inside of his skull. No one’s looking at you, you know no one is looking at you. Ifrit kept telling himself. He wore a long coat that draped down to his knees with a hood pulled up and over his eyes. His forearms and shins remained bound and obscured by wrappings of bandages while his gait made it a point to make no sound as he strode through the tavern.

Clutching his satchel that hung at his hip close to himself he spared a few quick glances around the room to calm his nerves and prove himself right. No prying eyes, no one was staring, he could just take his seat at the bar, get the information he needed and be done with the night. The sooner the better at that since he’d have an early morning tomorrow.

“I’d imagine it’s going to be a little hard to drink with all that stuff covering up your face.” The bartender said. He was a burly man with a long red braided beard stood only about as wide as he was tall. The Dwarf managed to look above the bar where Ifrit sat with the aid of a step stool as he kept his hands busy polishing a brass mug.

“I’m not here for a drink, just need a recommendation.” Ifrit said as he reached inside of his satchel and slapped down a gold coin. Keeping his hand over the coin, he watched the Dwarf appraise the money before even giving Ifrit a passing glance. “I’m a scholar with the college and I’m about to head out early next morning, who do I need to talk to about finding a body guard within that time?”

When Ifrit released his hand over the coin, it vanished from the table as the Dwarf swiped it up. With a surprising amount of dexterity, the Dwarf rolled the coin over his knuckles and looked to think for a moment or perhaps just to appraise the gold now in his hand.

“Fighter pits are always a good place to find some muscle.” The Dwarf offered.

“I prefer my body guards without brain damage thank you.” Ifrit said.

“Picky little bastard…” The Dwarf mumbled with a scoff. “What you’re willing to pay will certainly help narrow down what you’re looking for in someone to watch your back.”

Ifrit thought for a moment and reached inside of his satchel before producing a small bag of coins. Upon opening them up, the lamp light caught the polish of the gold inside as the Dwarf’s eyes lit up at the sight of how much money a man like Ifrit was carrying.

“One gold coin every day for the duration of my trip, that includes travel time to and from. Assuming you’re capable, I’ll let you do the math on that one.” Ifrit said and narrowed his eyes at the Dwarf who all but ignored him in favor of staring at the coins inside the purse.

“Carrying that much on you, I’d think you’d need a body guard just for that alone.” The Dwarf said.

“I can take care of myself pretty well around here, I just need someone to fight on my behalf if and when that’s needed.” Ifrit said.

“Can’t fight your own battle then?” The Dwarf asked.

“I can fight them just fine,” Ifrit said and swiped up the coin before dropping it back into his satchel and starting towards the door.

“Now hold on just a second there!” The Dwarf bellowed before hopping around the bar and chasing after Ifrit. The shorter man only managed to stop him upon snatching up the tails of his coat and pulling him back. “There’s always some muscle with more than just rocks between their ears down at the docks. Plenty of young upstarts looking to make a name for themselves and even more veterans that already have. What do you say you let me walk you down there and we can find you someone that suits your needs an in exchange you give me a finder’s fee?”

“You serve ale to a bunch of drunks, what makes you think you’re qualified to find me someone who knows how to fight?” Ifrit asked as he snatched his coat out of the Dwarf’s hand.

“Working here of all places,” The Dwarf gestured behind him to the rabble inside the tavern. Each man with a sour look on his face looking for any reason to bloody his knuckles. “I’ve seen a few fights and been in a few more than that so who better to trust when finding a body guard. It’s a bit of a knack of mine I have to say, comes with the territory. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen some lumbering fat fuck waddle on through those doors only to be laid out flat with a single punch from a man a quarter his size. You learn to look for certain things in a fighter. What you got in book smarts scholar I got twice as much in instinct.” The Dwarf said as he tapped his temple with a toothy grin.

Ifrit stared the Dwarf down for a moment and tried to infer just what he meant by instinct. Furthermore, what exactly did someone look for in a fighter without them even throwing a punch. Any noble’s brat could just as well buy a sword and some platemail, Ifrit had to admit that, but he wasn’t about to gamble with his life as to weather or not that same kid could even swing the damn sword.

“Alright,” Ifrit decided. “You find me someone who can fight and if they’re any good I’ll make sure you’re paid,” Ifrit noticed the way the Dwarf held out his hand to accept the expected payment, Ifrit only slapped his hand against his and scoffed. “After I come back from my trip.”

The Dwarf grumbled in response and circled around Ifrit before waving off the other bar tender to let him know he’d be back in just a moment. Ifrit followed behind though he had to throttle his stride in order to keep himself from overtaking the Dwarf as they walked towards the dock.

The city docks were only a few blocks away from the tavern as well which was convenient enough since the day began to wind down. The sun setting on the horizon meant that not many ships would make dock till tomorrow. The few ships that did dock however were just a couple of cargo ships which no doubt meant they had a few people aboard that could hold their own in a fight in the event of pirate attack. All the same, Ifrit saw a fair share of burly built men and woman hoisting boxes and barrels up and over their heads or tossing them around as though they were nothing more than a stone the size of their hand.

If he didn’t already feel out of place at the bar, Ifrit thought to himself that he may as well be glowing for how the people at the dock appraised him. Some with sneers, others with confusion, many more with surface deep smiles to perhaps coax Ifrit to charter their ship for a voyage.

“So you mentioned being able to hold your own in a fight aye?” The Dwarf asked Ifrit before turning to the occupants of the dock and bellowing out: “Fifty gold and a pint of ale to the first man who brings me his head!”

Ifrit’s eyes went wide at the man’s threat before he turned to the dock workers brandishing any weapon they could. Some pulled knives and swords, others produced flint lock pistols while some still improvised their weapons as someone threw a barrel towards Ifrit. With a flick of his wrist however, Ifrit sent a bolt of fire belching towards the barrel, causing the wood to catch and burst into flames with shivers and shards raining down around them.

Before anyone else could manage to make another attack, Ifrit flung his hands out to either side of his body, a torrent of flame in each palm.

“The only thing stopping me from turning this whole dock and everyone on it into charred corpses and ash is just one flick of the wrist!” Ifrit growled before giving a sidelong glare towards the Dwarf. “I can hold my own in a fight just fine, it’s cleaning up the corpses afterwards, I can’t say I enjoy the smell of burning flesh too much!”

“You wouldn’t dare!” The Dwarf challenged as he set his brow and balled his fists at his side. Ifrit could tell by the man’s expression his bravado was only skin deep and only went as far as his words. “You’d just as soon as take us with you if you decided to blow this place to kingdom come, so let’s see just how insane you fuckers out at the college really are…”

Snuffing one of the flames inside of his palm, Ifrit watched a sense of calm wash over the Dwarf as though he called Ifrit’s bluff. When Ifrit reached up to his face and pulled away the bandages wrapping his head however, this relief only turned to slack jawed horror as the color washed from the Dwarf’s face. His eyes sinking into his skull as he looked ready to wretch.

“You’re a… you’re a…” The Dwarf stammered.

“A Fire Genasi?” Ifrit said as he turned to face the rest of the dock workers and sneered at the way they all jumped away from the horrific visage that became of his face beneath his bandages. Retuning his face to the wrappings, Ifrit pulled his hood up and over his eyes before peering out at everyone around him. “You should know that my kind take pretty well to the fire, I can’t say the rest of you will though so I’ll give you this warning one last time, you let me leave and I won’t burn down every last ship around here deal?”

Looking to each of the faces, Ifrit scanned his eyes across every man still brandishing their weapons. This time, however, it wasn’t by malicious means but rather by their own instincts of self-preservation. Realizing that no one had the courage or stupidity to challenge him, Ifrit snuffed the other flame in his hand and turned his back on the dock workers. As he began to walk away, he felt something catch at his neck and yanked him back.

Reaching his hands up, he felt a rope lasso around his neck and traced the length to one of the dock workers towards the end of the dock. The slack of the rope in one hand and a small anchor in the other dangling over the edge of the peer. Ifrit didn’t need the man to spell out his plan to realize what he had in store for him.

“So you’re kind take pretty well to fire huh?” The dock worker said. “Could’ve fooled me with that jacked up face of yours so let’s see how well you deal with the water instead.”

“Nononono!” Ifrit protested just as the anchor dropped from the man’s hand and slashed into the water. The rope yanked against Ifrit’s neck hard enough to pull him back as he began to slide towards the edge of the dock. Any curse he could muster fell short on his lips as the rope choked him out for a response. Before he could summon up a flame to eat through the ropes and break the bindings, Ifrit found himself splashing into the water with the anchor dragging him down.

What remined of the light above the surface of the water began to shrink away as he felt a burn in his lungs. Unable to catch a full breath before he plunged into the water, Ifrit knew he didn’t have time before he’d suffocate or gasp for air only to fill his lungs with water. The fear in his mind, the burning in his lungs, he felt his muscles tense and shutter at this all to familiar feeling of dread as he tried to force himself to focus. He willed the image of his brother to his mind, he thought back to days long since passed.

Focus…

Focus.

Focus!

Ifrit felt the last of the air leave his lungs and forced himself to keep from trying to inhale despite being his first instinct. He couldn’t find his focus, his mind wouldn’t latch onto any other sensation than the blaring alarm that his body was in danger, that he was about to die! He wanted to shout at himself that he was well aware of that fact and that he’d only need to summon up a flame strong enough to burn the rope. Every time a spark would snap across his palms it only fizzled away under the water. Bubbles of smoke floating to the surface in place of flames. Focus damn it, focus! Ifrit kept shouting to himself as his eyes went wide and the rate of his heart quickened. The surge of adrenaline coursing through his veins only proved more bane than boon as it only quickened his suffocation as the world began to fall away from his periphery.

Even still he kept fall by the weight of the anchor pulling him down. Up above he saw something break the surface of the water and began to swim down towards him. Ifrit wondered if those dock workers seriously thought he was already dead and they were coming to loot his corpse. Even without a flame if they decided to come down with a knife he could just as well bloody the waters and leave them to the sharks while he cut himself free.

As the stranger approached, Ifrit lashed out with a clawing hand only to have the stranger catch it and pull him in close. A pair of lips pressed against Ifrit’s and forced his apart as a quick breath of air entered his lungs. Before he could even look at the face of his savior, they already held tight to his arm, cut the rope holding the anchor and wrapped their arm around Ifrit’s neck. As they began to ascend back to the surface it wasn’t long before Ifrit was able to gasp for air as he threw himself up onto the rocky wharf.

After clearing his lungs with a few cursory breaths, Ifrit’s skin and cloths dried with steam rising from his body as body lit with fury at the sound of laughter. Turning to see the dock workers, he saw them still laughing. Some with tears rolling down their face’s others rolling on their backs. Ifrit thought to himself that he’d give them something to laugh about in a second here just before a hand caught his robe and yanked him back.

“Just where do you think you’re going?” Ifrit’s savior said. Whomever she was, Ifrit didn’t turn to face her as he only yanked his cloak out of her grasp.

“I’m gonna give them something to laugh about.” Ifrit growled before feeling a tail wrap around his legs and around his waist, stopping him from moving any further.

“Oh they’re gonna laugh alright, pretty sure throwing you into the harbor for a second time will be just as funny as the first.” The woman with a serpent tail and snakes in her hair said. She wore chainmail around her body covered with soaked through cloth with what looked to be a sword and shield at her back. What was more curious about her appearance though was the strip of cloth she wore as a blindfold across her eyes.

“You’re…” Ifrit began.

“Blind?” The snake woman responded.

“I was going to say Yuan-Ti but I suppose your observation is just as accurate.” Ifrit said and looked back to the docks and then back to the woman that saved his life. He knew Yuan-Ti were cold blooded and a quick dip in the harbor to save his life probably didn’t help that. “Here let me warm you up.” Ifrit said and summoned a spell that would normally cause his body to burst into flames but throttled it back enough that he could heat himself up and warm the woman in the process. “What’s a Yuan-Ti doing some place like this?”

Ifrit saw the woman’s expression darken as the snakes atop her head pulled to the side to look out over the ocean. The woman turned her head with them despite not being able to see where they were looking. Ifrit could feel her tail loosen from around his body and decided that a less intrusive question might have been how she could see or what made her blind with the reaction he garnered.

“It’s none of my concern actually,” Ifrit corrected. “If it’s not too much to ask, I’d like to thank my savior by name.”

“Amara, I’m a paladin.” Amara said as she looked to warm to Ifrit’s inquiry.

“You can call me Ifrit and I’m in the market for a body guard.” Ifrit began. “I think you’re latest try out proves your worth. I’ll pay you a gold piece every day till you and I part ways after my studies are finished. This includes travel time to and from our location.”

“Okay but you have to agree to one condition first.” Amara said as she held up a finger in Ifrit’s face. “You have to promise to keep that temper of your in check understand.”

“I promise… to make an effort.” Ifrit said and felt Amara release her coil from around him.

“That’s all I ask, so where are we headed?” Amara asked as he two made their way out of the wharf and back to the city.

“Are you at all familiar with the Phoenix Isles?” Ifrit asked.


	2. "Elf... eater?"

**Chapter Two**

Ifrit stepped off the ship and onto the docks, a satchel hanging from one shoulder and a hood hiding his features. He looked among the crowds of Kenku walking amongst the peer and felt eyes on him constantly. Considering he was a Fire Genasi, though this was hard to tell considering he obscured his identity with bandages and hooded coats, he still stood a foot taller than most of the avian occupants on the docks. It was with this that Ifrit knew he garnered more than his fair share of attention from the locals, or at least he thought he did till he noticed that no one here spared him more than a passing glance.

Reminding himself that these people probably saw more obscure things coming and going from these docks, Ifrit tried to remind himself that no one was staring at him at all. He was just a single drop of rain inside the ocean. He was no body. That was just what he needed to keep telling himself. This constant feeling of eyes on him was just his own mind playing tricks on him and he’d sooner forget about it the moment he got to work.

Reaching inside of his satchel, Ifrit produced a leather-bound tome and flicked through the pages one by one. Scanning his eyes across each page till he found the words he was looking for, the isle of the phoenix. Ifrit read through the account of the island once more to refresh his memory as to the culture and customs here.

The island and its occupants were predominantly farmers with their largest imports being vegetables and grain grown on these farms. Their massive yield made possible by a ceremony they held every year where they made a sacrifice to a phoenix spirit. In return the spirit would gift the citizens of the island with ash to fertilize their crops and grow more food for the next year.

Clapping the book shut, Ifrit looked to the docks and noticed a distinct lack of any real vegetables on display. No crates of carrots or barrels of barely, no potatoes or lettuce or anything loaded onto ships. Rather the only food rations he could even see were a few measly scraps of food hocked by merchants deeper into the shore side city. Besides that, he could only see dried meats and barrels of water loaded onto departing ships. Even then this was clearly only rations for the crew of the ship instead of an export to another island or city for that matter. On top of that, Ifrit realized that the only ship at the dock currently was the one he stepped off and it was only a passenger ship at that.

Noticing the other faces that departed from the ship, Ifrit scoffed at his prior thought about being the odd man out in a Kenku city. A bi pedal humanoid shaped man made of steel stepped off the boat wearing something that may as well make Ifrit invisible by comparison. The Warforge man wore a wide brimmed hat with a feather sticking out of it with a matching long coat that draped down to his ankles. The high collar might have obscured his identity if not for the gold trim and the scarf flowing in the wind.

To make matters that much more laughable, the next pair to depart from the ship a reptile of some sort riding atop a gryphon. Ifrit thought for a moment that he couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen a Dragonborn let alone one riding a gryphon of all things. He honestly wondered how something like that slipped past him through the entire ride on the ship. That is till Ifrit reminded himself that he made it a point to stay in his quarters.

“Aren’t you a little warm with all these layers?” Amara, Ifrit’s Yuan-Ti body guard said as she slithered up beside him and tugged on his robes.

Ifrit had to admit, being this close to the ocean as well as having a massive volcano towards the center of the already tropical island made it a bit balmy. He was almost glad he didn’t have any hair on his head anymore or else it might just start to frizz up and poke out from under his hood. Even with his lack of hair however, that still didn’t stop him from feeling more than a little uncomfortable with all the heat around him. Even as a Fire Genasi, being resistant to fire didn’t mean he enjoyed this kind of humid heat.

Taking the chest of his coat, he tried to waft himself to cool down knowing he wasn’t prone to sweating anymore and thus had to rely on other means of cooling himself off.

“More than just a little actually, I may have to soak my wrappings before we go any further.” Ifrit said with a sigh as he loosened the bandages around his face enough to help him breath that much easier.

“I’m sure one of the dock workers wouldn’t mind helping you out with that.” Amara said as she started towards the city, looking back in Ifrit’s general direction with a half smirk playing on her lips.

“Did you just…” Ifrit began before running off to catch up with her. “You think you’re funny, don’t you?”

“You only told me I was supposed to protect you from everyone else you never said I couldn’t make a few attacks myself.” Amara teased and nudged Ifrit’s ribs to let him know she was only kidding.

“I suppose you’re adjusting to the heat well enough then?” Ifrit asked. “There must’ve been a drought though, this place is known for being the cornucopia of the world, or at least this side of the hemisphere.”

“What do you mean?” Amara asked.

“The Phoenix Isles are primarily farm land, the soil is rich with vitamins and minerals from the volcanic ash and clay and on top of that they have a ceremony that gives them some of the most fertile ash in the entire world… doesn’t really do much when you don’t have water for the plants though.” Ifrit said and looked around, a cursory sniff in the air caused him to sneer at the scent. The underlying smell of sulfur mixed with the smell of charcoal and ash. If he had to guess where the smell of sulfur came from it was no doubt the decaying and molding vegetables the few shop keepers tried to sell.

“Ifrit!” Amara said as she tugged on Ifrit’s sleeve, bringing Ifrit out of his thoughts to hear shouting deeper into the city.

Turning towards the commotion, Ifrit saw spears flung, arrows flying and a few bolts of spells careening up and into the sky. Moments after this a beast with the body of an eagle and the horned head of a stag took to the sky. Something glinted as it caught the light between its snatching claws while a Kenku tried to hold tight before loosing his grip and falling to the streets below.

Reaching inside of his satchel once more, Ifrit produced another tome different from the one before as he paged through and found an illustration of the bird like thing he just saw. The Peryton and a rather gutsy one at that. The passage went on to say that they were omnivores but he doubted whatever the creature held in its grasp wasn’t quite edible. Clapping his book shut, he tapped Amara on her shoulder to gesture her to follow. Even if he was only here for academic pursuits, currying favor with the locals was never a bad idea. It would certainly make it easier for an outsider to get some work done at the very least.

“Come on, let’s see if they need help.” Ifrit said as he started towards the city center.

“What just happened?” Amara asked as she slithered up beside Ifrit.

“Peryton came down and nabbed something from the locals.”

“A Pery-what now?”

“It looks like a bird with the head of a stag it’s on the bigger side, I’m assuming whatever this thing wanted it was probably hungry but whatever it grabbed wasn’t food. You said you were a paladin though, do you know any healing spells, they might have wounded.” Ifrit asked as he waded through the crowds of Kenku gathered in the city center. Considering he towered over each of them, this wasn’t a difficult task in the slightest.

“Yes, I have a few, just tell me where you need me.” Amara said as she reached out to Ifrit and placed a hand at his shoulder to help her navigate the crowds.

Just up ahead, in the direct center of the city, stood a massive bowl that Ifrit wagered stood thirty paces in all directions. The curve of the bowl looked deep enough to store enough water to make for an artificial lake while the arches that spanned above from four points along the edge held various inscriptions. Ifrit thought to check his notes and study the ruins, perhaps relating them to the ceremony he’d read about earlier today but decided there were other things that needed his attention.

“What in the world happened here?” Ifrit asked the Kenku kneeling next to another on the ground.

The Kenku on the ground groaned in pain as his leg and arm bent in odd directions. The fracture in his knee causing his shin to bend towards his body while his arm looked as though he dislocated his shoulder.

"It seems the elf-eater has found itself something shiny." A commanding voice called from the crowd, forcing Ifrit to search for the voice. He knew Kenku couldn’t speak like that. A soft, almost slick tone of voice as if the words dripped from her lips like rain skirting off the leaves of a tree.

Tracing his eyes among the crowd, Ifrit saw a blue skin fin eared woman walking away from the scene and off towards where the Peryton fled. The way her hair flowed was as if she remained submerged in water with how it flowed freely and softly. As if the wind tousled it but not with a blowing gust, almost as if the wind itself stopped to run its fingers through every strand. A Water Genasi.

"Elf... eater?" Amara said, her head cocking towards Ifrit.

"Yeah they uhh... they do that too..." Ifrit said and rubbed the back of his neck before turning to the Kenku. “What happened here?”

“Happened here,” The Kenku said with Ifrit’s voice. Ifrit knew this was their only means of speaking. Kenku were unable to make sounds by themselves but they could repeat sounds they’ve previously to a frightening likeness. “the elf-eater found itself something shiny.”

“Amara, this one needs help, I think he broke something.” Ifrit said and Amara nodded as she knelt beside the Kenku with the dislocated shoulder. Her cooing words and soft hands looking to calm the injured man. “What was it that he stole?”

“Forgive the young one,” Another voice called out as he approached. Judging by the state of his feathers and how they frayed and greyed at the ends, he was far older than the others. His speaking and vocabulary punctuated this as he spoke with a few dozen voices blending into a coherent speech. “He’s not seen the world enough to find his voice. Our sacred idol has since been stolen by that beast, it is the only way we can summon our lord to bless us with his fertile ash to nurture our farms and grow our crops.”

Ifrit flinched at the sound of bones snapping back into place and looked down to see Amara’s hands glowing. The joints of the Kenku’s body snapping back into place and despite the obvious discomfort showing on his face the Kenku didn’t have the noises to vocalize this.

“Without our idol, I am afraid we will not be able to hold our festival this year, I do not know if our township will make it another however.” The elder Kenku said and ruffled his feathers at the sound of another voice cutting through the crowd.

“HOLD ON NOW!” A voice bellowed and marched through the crowd. At the mere sight of his gold trimmed jacket collar, Ifrit’s shoulders dropped. “I DID NOT COME ALL THE WAY FROM TIM-BUCK-FUCKIN-TO ONLY TO HAVE TO PACK UP AND GO HOME! WE ARE GETTING THAT SHINY PAPER WEIGHT BACK IF IT’S THE LAST THING THIS GUY DOES!” The Warforge from earlier today shouted and pointed directly at Ifrit.

In response, Ifrit only pulled his hood up over his head as the Kenku turned to face him. He kept his eyes down and thought to himself that he always wondered what the melting point was on the metal used to make Warforge.

“If you’re looking to get the idol back,” The gold Dragonborn said as he rode into the crowd atop his gryphon. “Warfrus and I could track down the Peryton faster than everyone here could on foot.”

“So you can steal all the glory yourself, not a chance in your life shiny, I’m coming too.” The Warforge said as he placed his hands on his hips with his chest puffing out.

“Neither of you are going anywhere till you can both prove to me you have at least some modicum of combat experience, Peryton aren’t exactly easy to track down or kill.” Ifrit interjected.

“Oh and what makes you so qualified then huh?” The Warforge said as he turned his sights on Ifrit and eyed him from head to toe.

“For starters I’m traveling with a paladin and I’m a sorcerer myself, so I think were both a bit more qualified than…” Ifrit paused and gestured to all of the Warforge before him. “Whatever the hell you can do, what are you even doing here?”

“What am I…” The Warforge asked before turning to the Gold Dragonborn and his Gryphon. “Is this guy for real? What am I doing here? Do you even know who I am buddy!?” The Warforge gave pause enough for Ifrit to attempt to respond before cutting him off before he even managed to get a word in. “I am the great amazing Victor, the famous bard of your time and the time before that and I am here to grace this island and its festival with my great music as I make my grand island tour!”

“Never heard of you,” Ifrit said and turned to Amara. “You even heard of a bard that goes by Victor?”

“I’m sorry I can’t say I have.” Amara said with a shrug.

“Uncultured swine, all of you.” Victor said, his shoulders slumping in defeat.

“While were making introductions,” The Gold Dragonborn said. “You already know this is Warfrus, but you can call me Rogar.”

“Ifrit, pleased to meet you.” Ifrit droned out.

“Amara, the pleasure is all mine!” Amara chimed.

“If nothing else we should travel as a group to try and track down that Peryton, there’s no telling what might be out there and if we stay together a Peryton will be less likely to ambush us.” Ifrit said.

“Warfrus can fly faster than everyone here can run, we can track down the Peryton just fine!” Rogar said.

“Does this place have any stables, maybe some horses we could borrow?” Ifrit asked the elder Kenku.

“Sables,” The Kenku on the ground said as he rose to his feet, testing his newly healed leg to see if it would hold his weight before rolling his shoulders. Nodding his thanks to Amara, he said with Ifrit’s voice: “Horses we could borrow.”

“Are you really sure that’s a good idea, I mean don’t gryphon… you know.” Victor began.

“I have a name you know,” Warfrus the gryphon said as he turned his massive head over towards Victor and regarded everyone’s mostly mutual expression. The unanimous look of shock and awe at the eloquent speech from what most would consider a beast.

“Did that thing just talk…” Victor said.

“Call it a thing again and I’m sure it will do more than just talk at you,” Ifrit interjected. “I trust you’ll let us ride beside you then Warfrus?”

Warfrus turned his massive head up towards Rogar who shrugged his shoulders. Turning back to the group Warfrus said: “I assume you’re all too stuborn to take no for an answer, if nothing else you can watch the ground while we watch the sky, we’ll meet you at the edge of the city.”

“Your deeds will not go unpraised,” The Elder Kenku said as he placed a hand on his chest and bowed lightly. “We will pray for your safe return and a quick journey; you may very well have to seek out your own path. Few if any are willing to travel outside of the city limits for fear of the scorched lands and the omens they bring.”

“Journey through the scorched lands, I think I gotta title for my new song!” Victor said and flinched at the feel of Ifrit’s hand smacking him up side the head. “Hey jackass just cause I’m made of metal don’t mean I don’t have feelings too!”

“I’m sorry he’s so rude, apparently his last trip into a harbor wasn’t enough to calm his temper like someone promised.” Amara said and even without a set of eyes Ifrit could feel her searing gaze burrowing into the side of his skull.

“I said I’d make an effort; I made no promises beyond that.” Ifrit said.

“Awww you two are adorable, how long have you been married?” Rogar said as Warfrus plodded along and snickered in a way only a Gryphon could.

Neither Ifrit nor Amara could muster the right words to say but between the two of them they both managed just about every single syllable within the common tongue. Eventually after a cursory glance towards each other, they both decided to keep their mouths shut.

“Oh yeah, that’s going in the song.” Victor said.


	3. "I hired you as my bodyguard not my nanny..."

**Chapter Three**

“Hey I gotta question for ya!” Victor said as he sidled up beside Ifrit, the two men riding side by side with their horses as they started out of the city.

“Believe me, the bandages are going to be far less frightening then what lies beneath them so trust me when I say that you’re better off not knowing what I look like.” Ifrit droned out with a tone suggesting he’d rehearsed this response or gave it more than once.

“Good to know I guess but not what I was gonna ask,” Victor began and Ifrit looked taken aback for a moment. “I was gonna ask how safe is it for the snake to be riding a horse I mean can she even see through that thing or what?”

Ifrit gave this some thought as he looked over his shoulder and saw Amara handling her horse just as well as the rest of them. The snakes atop her head peering around her, their tiny heads and black pearl eyes taking in the sights. Though once they were out of the city, there was hardly much to really see. Planes of ash and blanked earth stretched into the horizon with various smatterings of trees left standing but still dead. The corpses of a forest stretching up like tomb stones in a grave yard. What little structures remained outside the city were cobble stone chimineas along with the foundation of where a house might have stood once upon a time.

Despite her lack of sight however, Amara still managed to wave in Victor and Ifrit’s general direction when she caught them staring at her. With a smile gracing her lips Ifrit smiled under his bandages and waved in return.

“She seems to be doing just fine,” Ifrit said with shrug.

“Hey Scaley!” Victor began as he reared back on his horse till Amara was closer between them. Ifrit yanked on his horse’s reins as he swiped out a hand to try and catch Victor before he could go any further but he fell just out of arms reach. “Help Ifrit and I settle a bet, how is it that you’re riding so well with that thing over your eyes?”

“You don’t have to answer that Amara, the tin can is just being obnoxious.” Ifrit said as he tried to keep pace ahead of the two as if to suggest he was beyond this whole conversation.

“No he’s okay,” Amara said with yet another sweet smile before the snakes in her hair guided her head to turn towards Victor’s general location. “I can’t see anything but I can navigate the world using the snakes on top of my head, I can’t see through their eyes but it’s almost like being blind folded and having someone give you directions. I may not know exact details but I can get a pretty good sense of what’s in front of me.”

“Uhhh huh… so why are you traveling with the human torch over here?” Victor asked.

“What’s that supposed to mean?!” Ifrit snapped but couldn’t grab Victor’s attention.

“Ifrit,” Amara corrected on his behalf. “Hired me as his body guard while he studies the location here, but I guess things have already gotten a little out of hand.”

“You could say that again!” Rhogar said as he swooped down from atop his gryphon.

“I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say things are pretty outta hand already this is just par for the course for a place like this right about now.” Victor said as he nodded out over towards the empty plane of ash.

“What does he mean?” Amara asked Ifrit.

“You can smell it in the air, right?” Ifrit asked. “The smell of ash and sulfur? The whole place, everything outside of the city looks like it’s been burned to the ground. Honestly, it’s no wonder the markets are baren, there’s hardly any real farm land to speak of out here.”

“What do you think happened here?” Amara asked the group.

“I’ve heard of farmers burning the stocks in their crops field and tilling the ash back into the ground, its supposed to help keep the soil fresh and fertile.” Ifrit said.

“Yeah this ain’t a controlled burn there buddy, this looks like some kinda wild fire done ripped through the place.” Victor said.

Ifrit thought about it for a moment. A combination of a wild fire ripping through most of the land with a possible drought to keep the people from being able to fight the fire would be more than plausible. That only added to the gravitas of their mission however, with no crops left they’d need every edge they could to help produce food for the island. That is, of course, if they could even manage to get any imports in before starvation started to sweep through. Crossing the thought from his mind, Ifrit decided it was better to keep his mind busy with something else.

“Any signs of the Peryton?” Ifrit asked.

“Nothing but a whole bunch of scorched earth up ahead, Peryton usually like to stay on the ground but there really isn’t much for them here, my guess is that they headed up towards the mountain side.” Rhogar said.

Looking out over the horizon, beyond heat waving in the air, Ifrit saw a row of mountains up ahead. Their snow-capped peaks almost taunting him with the promise of more hospitable temperatures. Urging his mount forward, the horse chuffed in protest but begrudgingly carried onward. Ifrit could empathize with the poor creature but he wasn’t about to step off and start walking. They were easily still a few hours away from the mountains and this was only a hunch as to where the Peryton went. It wasn’t as if a flying creature like that left a trail to follow

Ifrit could feel the heat starting to get to him though. With a lack of trees or any means of shade for that matter, nothing really stopped the tropical heat from baring down on him. Couple this with a blackened surface and this only made it that much easier for the heat to trap itself in the ground and make it feel that much hotter.

The horses were already panting against the heat as the sweat began to dot their bodies. Looking to his party, Ifrit promptly realized he was among the only people that the heat even bothered in the slightest. Two of the four were reptiles and the third no doubt had zero concept of heat or cold. This, naturally, left Ifrit at odds with everyone else when it came to their travels. He wasn’t about to buckle under the heat either and slow everyone down, but even with his bandages soaked with water his body still ached and pulsed against the temperature. The smell of char in the air did nothing to settle his stomach and to make matters that much worse, his water skin was already empty.

Ifrit’s head began to feel like it was swelling inside of a vice. His brain pressing up against his skull and threatening to ooze out of his eyes if it didn’t find relief soon. Beneath his bandages, Ifrit felt the blood pulse in his temples and listened to it rush past his ears. Beyond these thundering noises and the sound of his own labored breathing, Ifrit heard something else behind him. Whatever it was, it could wait till they stopped for some rest. Right now, they only needed to carry on, just needed to keep going. At least, that’s what Ifrit thought to himself before wondering why the world suddenly turned sideways and went dark.

_~Later~_

Ifrit groaned as he awoke and stared up at the night sky above him. He counted the stars one by one as his consciousness came to him in a slow but steady stream. He felt something soft beneath his neck, his head elevated above the ground. A slight chill ran through his body from the night air and Ifrit reached over to where the hem of his coat should’ve been only to catch open air. All at once, his sleep addled mind awoke as his eyes burst open and he slapped a hand onto his face. Just as quickly as it came, the feeling of terror left him as Ifrit felt his bandages still around his face and saw them still wrapped around his hands.

With a sigh he lowered his hand to his side before feeling another hand run across his bandaged head. Flinching at the feel of it, Ifrit craned his neck upward to see Amara stroking his head with her tail coiled beneath his neck. Her snakes peering at him from all angles with their tongues flicking out at him. Amara only smiled and held a hand at his back once she felt Ifrit try to rise.

“You fell off your horse a few hours ago, how are you feeling now?” Amara asked.

“Better now that the temperature has dropped.” Ifrit said as he felt another shiver wrack his body and saw that his party decided to make camp.

A small fire sat near them with Victor scribbling in a note book, no doubt composing his next symphony. Rhogar and Worfras weren’t far either. Worfras sat curled around Rhogar’s back as Rhogar leaned into him. The mighty gryphon laid his head in his massive paws, his eyes shut and his breathing shallow as he slept. Rhogar, still awake, tended to his own weaponry, taking a wet stone to the edge of his sword. A fourth figure sat with her back turned to Amara and Ifrit, her form silhouetted by light of the fire but the mere way her hair moved gave her identity away to Ifrit.

The Water Genasi from the town peered over her shoulder, her hair flicking out to the side the same as it did as though her hair was lighter than air itself.

“Good evening,” The Water Genasi said, her voice flowing out the way water can cut through stone given enough time.

“Yeah evening,” Ifrit said as he rose and started towards the fire after snatching up his coat from the ground. Amara must’ve laid it down for him after they made cam. Amara rising with him and following close behind. Ifrit swung his coat around his body and pulled the hood up over his head as he approached the light of the fire. “I don’t think we’ve met yet, at least not officially.”

“Eris,” The Water Genasi said with a tone that wasn’t curt but wasn’t kind either.

“Ifrit,” Ifrit responded, his eyes never leaving the fire as he watched the flames eat away at the wood, slowly turning it to bits of smoldering ash and embers. “I’m assuming you’ve already made your introductions to everyone else then?”

“She ain’t much of a talker so we know about as much of her as you do matchstick.” Victor said as he looked up from his note book.

“I’m sure you’ll be able to talk enough for everyone else here.” Ifrit said without looking up at Victor or even Rhogar when he let out a boisterous laugh at his comment.

“So what happened to you back there, you just kinda passed out?” Rhogar asked before Victor could make another comment.

“The heat was starting to get to me,” Ifrit droned as he blinked his attention away from the fire and looked around where they set up camp. Unlike the area outside of the city, this place wasn’t ash and char. Rather it was still full of life with trees stretching high into the sky, crickets calling out in the night, and owls hooting from their tree tops. “Why do you think this place was untouched by the fires?”

“It is kinda weird isn’t it?” Rhogar asked as he looked around at the life around them and then out to the horizon where he could still see the charred spires jutting into the sky that were once trees themselves.

“I’m sure the run off from the mountains ensures this area stays moist enough that nothing burns.” Eris said in a matter-of-fact tone of voice as she brushed a lock of hair over her ear. Ifrit watched as it flicked into the air and then gently fell back over her fingers as she turned off towards the forest. “There’s a river about forty paces from our camp, you should fill up your water so we don’t have to drag you to our next location.”

Ifrit opened his mouth under his bandages and tried to think of a response to an order like this before realizing she was right. That didn’t mean he had to be happy about it though. Standing, Ifrit snatched up his satchel and slung it over his shoulder before checking to ensure everything was still in its place. After that, he produced his water skin and started off towards the direction Eris nodded towards. Noticing Amara rise with him, Ifrit groaned as he watched Rhogar and Victor whisper something between the two of them.

“I think I can get water just fine by myself Amara, thank you.” Ifrit said as he cocked a brow at the Dragonborn and Warforge. Turning his back to them, he started deeper into the forest.

Despite having no real clear direction to follow besides a vague nod, Ifrit picked up the sound of running water through the calm night. He found himself thankful for his dark vision as well as the moon and stars hanging in a cloudless night. The last thing he needed was to make everyone think he really was made of glass after passing out on his horse all the way out here.

Ifrit was curious though, upon finding the stream of water, he noticed it flowed freely enough that water shortages didn’t seem to really be an issue. That threw a bit of a kink into his initial theory about what happened around here. If not a drought then what in the world could have caused such a massive part of the country side to burn like that? Perhaps it was just a means of transporting the water. Or maybe by the time they could get any water the fire already spread too much for just a single river to really handle.

Shrugging the thought away, Ifrit knelt to the water’s surface and sneered at the reflection that stared back at him. That bandaged face with a hood sitting atop and yellow eyes peering out from underneath. Baring his teeth at his own reflection hardly made it any easier to look at but it was a reaction Ifrit couldn’t help. He knew better than to stare at himself though and only slipped his water skin into where his reflection was if only to give himself an excuse to not to stare any longer.

Hearing a rustling behind him, Ifrit rolled his eyes and only kept filling his water as he heard something approach. The soft hush of grass falling under foot, or rather as Ifrit assumed, under a slithering tail.

“I thought I told you that I’d be just-” Ifrit began as he stood and turned to face the creature that most certainly wasn’t a Yuan-Ti or even remotely lizard like for that matter.

The wolf that knelt before Ifrit bared its teeth as its golden eyes caught the light from the night and glowed. The fur along its body fell off in what looked like larger patches with bare skin exposed with no real injuries sustained. The wolf itself, with the skin along its torso pulled taut, looked like it hadn’t eaten in weeks. Perhaps even months.

Ifrit thought to himself that this may be due to the burned area around the cities. Less forested areas meant less foliage. Less foliage meant herbivores had nothing to eat. Starving herbivores meant starving and very desperate carnivores. This was hardly a time for Ifrit to be working out a theory as to what happened here though, he knew damn well if he turned his back and tried to run the wolf would only give chase. Then again, how well could a starving wolf really swim? He could make a break for it across the river but then again, Ifrit wasn’t much for swimming either.

No, he’d have to stand his ground, maybe scare the poor beast off or try or placate it with some food. This was also something he’d fail to mention to Amara if only because she’d never leave his side if she found out about this.

Reaching inside of his satchel, Ifrit fished around for any sort of rations he might’ve had on his person. Palming through the bag blindly force him to take his eyes of the wolf for only a moment to see what he was trying to find. This proved to be the single instance the wolf needed to find its courage and leap forward with a vicious snarl. Ifrit turned back in time to catch the wolf’s mouth on his forearm but the beast still sunk its teeth into his arm. Its slobbering fangs ripping into the fabric and bandages causing Ifrit to scream out in pain as he threw punch after punch into the beast’s skull.

He as was sorcerer and not a warrior of any kind though so the wolf shook off each blow like it was little more than a hefty gust of wind. Its teeth remained latched onto Ifrit’s forearm and despite Ifrit’s efforts to pry the wolf’s mouth open, Ifrit’s fingers couldn’t find purchase or leverage. Realizing he had no other choice, Ifrit laid his hand onto the wolf’s face and concentrated his fury into the palm of his hand. The skin along his palm lit with fire as it burned and branded the wolf enough for the beast’s fur to catch fire and seer away at the skin. The pain enough to cause the wolf to yelp and, in the process, release its grip over Ifrit’s arm.

“God, I hate that smell…” Ifrit groused as he covered his mouth with his good hand. The other hand hung limp at his side, blood dripping down his wrist and falling in drops off his fingertips. Concentrating the same fire into his palm again, Ifrit slapped a hand down onto his forearm where the wolf bit into his flesh and listened as his skin seared and hissed under the heat. Cauterizing the wound, Ifrit shut his eyes for a moment to bare through the pain before his eyes shot wide open and he let out a loathsome howl. This war cry looked to be enough to startle the wolf as its tail hung between its leg.

“Ifrit!” Amara called out through the trees as she darted through the bushes. Upon arriving the wolf Ifrit branded turned tail and sprinted into the forest. “Are you okay? I heard shouting. Wait, is something burning?”

“To answer your questions,” Ifrit said as he watched the wolf run away. “I’m fine now, I just ran into a wolf and he may have bit me and I had to cauterize the-”

That was as far as Amara was willing to hear as she dashed over towards him and took his arm in her hand. The snakes atop her head directing her hands as she pulled the bandages away and felt across the skin of his arm before gasping and pulling back. Her blind folded face turned up to face him as an eyeless expression came over her features.

“You said you cauterized the wounds but…” Amara began as she pulled her hands away from him. “Ifrit these burns are… they’re not recent.”

“I know!” Ifrit snapped as he yanked his hand back. “I hired you as my body guard not my nanny, now let’s head back to camp.”

“Yes sir…” Amara said and fell in behind Ifrit.


End file.
